ELKO – Rural cancer patients will once again have to travel out of town for their radiation therapy after the Northeastern Nevada Radiation Oncology Center closes its doors on May 30.

The announcement was made at the Elko County Board of Health meeting April 18 by Commissioner Cliff Eklund, who expressed regret that the center was closing

“I’m kind of sad to see it go because I think it was a great benefit to local people so they didn’t have to travel to Reno and Salt Lake for radiation treatment,” Eklund said.

Dan Moore, CEO of Radiation Business Services Evolution, which is the managing partner for the oncology center, confirmed the closure in a statement.

“We are sad to announce that Northeastern Nevada Radiation Oncology Center will be closing its doors in late May. Unfortunately, we have been unable to garner the support of the local medical community,” Moore said.

Eklund said the center was having problems obtaining referrals, and cited that as one of the reasons for the closure.

“There was a lack of communication, I think, between the cancer center and the local doctors where they weren’t getting referrals,” Eklund said, adding that efforts to recruit a medical oncologist to the area failed.

The building will be up for sale, and Eklund said he hoped that a new oncology center would move in.

Moore said the center was successful in treating more than 100 people who were saved a trip out of town for their radiation treatment.

“Since we opened the facility in 2015, we have helped over 100 patients to stay close to home for their cancer treatment,” Moore said. “We are grateful that we were able to make a difference for those patients and their families.”

The center will remain open to complete treatment for all of its current patients, Moore said.

The company lost $10 million within the three years it was opened and saw about 140 patients, 110 of whom had radiation treatment, said Denise Gerlach, vice president of marketing for RBS Evolution.

“It was a sad day today when we had to inform our patients,” Baeza said. “Our priority is to take care of our patients and we’re going to continue to provide treatment until all of our patients have graduated. Then we will go from there.”

Baeza pointed to the impact the center had on families who were dealing with cancer, and said she wasn’t sure if enough people knew what the center accomplished by providing cancer treatment.

“I don’t think people understand, maybe some do, [about] what these families are going through,” Baeza said. “These people [are] fighting for their health.”

Commissioner Delmo Andreozzi agreed with Eklund that the loss of the oncology center and its “cutting-edge technology” in rural Nevada was sad news. He said he understood the additional burden cancer patients faced when having to travel for their treatments.

“This is a sad day, there’s no question about it,” Andreozzi said. “I know people, personally, who were treated there.”

Local artist and breast cancer survivor Glen Ellen Finley said she was “upset” to hear of the center’s closing, saying the community did not support the center enough.

“The community did not embrace it,” Finley said. She said she avoided radiation therapy in Salt Lake City for her first round of breast cancer because she didn’t have relatives to stay with while she underwent treatment.

“This means people have to go to Salt Lake City for six weeks for 10 minutes of treatment, and you have to stay the rest of the day,” Finely said. “That’s a hardship for anyone who has to go through it.”

Finley praised the staff for the care they provided their patients.

“They were very polite, very warm and very good with patient care, explaining what would happen next. They were very, very thorough,” Finley said. “I’ve tried to bolster the place, telling people their equipment and services were as good as Salt Lake City’s.”

Medical records of all former patients will continue to be available through RBS Evolution. Former patients can contact 866-353-0360 for assistance.

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Whether or not it was opened by the hospital isn't the point and isn't mentioned in this article. As a whole, the Healthcare community does not support each other or anyone Healthcare related in Elko. There seems to always be a somewhat negative connotation between providers including hospital, clinic and other entities leadership with each other. Instead of uplifting, supporting, and encouraging each other, I've often heard of drama, eye rolling, under cutting, back stabbing, bullying, deceitful lies to each other as well as to others occurring. Promises made whether written or verbal not being honored. Whatever happened to integrity as a professional? Whatever happened to giving each other honest, good complements and encouragement? Whatever happened to supporting and validation of the person as a valued intricate part of the whole system as well as an individual? I know I have been at the receiving end of being made to feel like only a numbered replaceable "cog". And I've witnessed in the 4 years living in this area many highly educated, devoted, compassionate, hardworking professionals on all levels treated the same. No one likes to feel like a numbered "cog" in a machine. Why isn't there something being done to improve the moral and unify the Healthcare community? What can we, I, do to change things to pull it together? We, as a whole, have lost many great peopleasure as they get frustrated with the lack of willingness from the few who want to be controlling and all powerful egotistical and do not want to united to work together as a professional team. As a community in whole, I feel, we have created this problem and therefore are creating our own Healthcare demise. Just my opinion and based solely on my experience, observation, and perception....... truly we are reaping what had been sown.

I would love to share my experiences but do not want air dirty laundry in public. Perhaps if you truly want to know the multiple insistences and experiences I have endured, we can meet for coffee. However, remember I'm not the only who has endured the same working condition.

NNRH has never had a good reputation! The care is mediocre , they transport almost everyone out, they buy out and close every other medical facility in Elko, they overcharge, and outsource alot of their positions which takes jobs away from residents of Elko. You built the Oncology center abut to the hospital, so what did you expect to happen?? Things will never change until managements attitude changes & the patients are put 1st. Patients & doctors will come with a change for the better. Hospitals are not efficient being run by money hungry corporations thousands of miles away when the patients and staff are in RURAL NEVADA. IT can change for the better , look around at Winnemucca, Ely hospitals, NNRH needs to upgrade care, you have the facilities, tools but no triage training/ facilities.

I have received excellent care at NNRH. In January of last year I went to the ER because I had persistent fever and a cough. They had the chest X-ray done in ten minutes, and when they looked at the images they had me in the CT machine in five minutes more. I broke a finger in a rather novel way and received prompt and excellent care, and earlier this year I badly cut my thumb open and again received excellent care. Because of my first-hand experience with NNRH I am very confident in the hospital and staff, and I am genuinely mystified by the hospital's reputation in the community.

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